The winter months make most of us crave sweets because the calories warm us up, instantly. Indian people can’t live without sweets. The country is a melting pot of various cultures that have winter desserts. Below, we take a look at five such mouth-watering sweets from India.
- Nolen Gur Sandesh
Nolen Gur Sandesh, made with Indian cottage cheese, milk and date palm jaggery, is the most popular Bengali dessert in winter. It has an earthen taste that reminds one of the rural greens. Studies have found that date palms contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that protect our brains.
- Gajar ka Halwa
This sweet pudding made with grated carrots, milk and ghee is another popular dessert from India. Gajar ka Halwa is topped with almonds, raisins and pistachios and served hot. The dessert has ample vitamins and is low in fat.
- Gond ke Laddu
Gond or Gondh, an edible gum from Acacia plants, is used to prepare this round-shaped confectionary. The dessert is given to pregnant and lactating women because it is high in calories, needed by mothers for energy. Gond is rich in calcium, magnesium and helps alleviate pain in joints. It is also a body warming food and is thus ideal as a winter dessert.
- Pithey
Pithey or Pitha is an Indian dessert made using rice flour and jaggery. It is prepared as a pancake or a dumpling and is popular in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and Kerala. Like Ariselu, Pithas are also a harvest season dessert. Puli Pithey, Bhapa Pithey, Kakara Pitha, Chakuli Pitha, Kachi Pitha, Ghila Pitha and Dal Pitha are some of the staple preparations.
- Ariselu
Also known as Arisa and Kajjaaya in Odia and Kannada languages and Adirasam in Tamil, Ariselu is a traditional dessert having a flat disc-like shape and a hard, rubbery texture. It is made with rice flour, jaggery, ghee and sesame seeds during the Sankranti harvest festival in January and is popular in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The sesame seeds help maintain our body temperatures in winter.